2019

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

In the ongoing saga of my hand, I’m now wearing this little shield/brace on my thumb, probably for just a couple of weeks. And I started physical therapy too, slowly trying to get my opposable thumb movements back. Yay for getting better!

What did I read during the last week?

The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss: Such a gorgeous book! My review is here.

The Institute by Stephen King: After a few false starts, I finally dug back into this book and finished it. Good and creepy! My review is here.

In audiobooks:

The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli: Oh, I had problems with this book. My review is here.

Also in audio — I’m listening my way through Amazon’s Forward series of short stories. So far, I’ve listened to these three:

Quick reaction:

Summer Frost: Emotional and chilling story set in the world of AI. Very easy to get caught up in this story!
You Have Arrived At Your Destination: About a couple considering a tech firm’s services to produce a designer baby. I’m not sure I really got it in the end.
Randomize: So much fun! All about a couple using quantum computing to scam a Las Vegas casino. Fast and enjoyable.

Pop Culture

Back to my Veronica Mars obsession! This week, I watched the 2014 movie. Love, love, love. (Or should I say, LoVe. If you watch the show, you get it.)

And, I finished season 2 of Fleabag. I’m ready for some more binge suggestions!

Fresh Catch:

My amazing daughter sent me this awesome present:

Also…

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman arrived. I’d almost forgotten this was coming! I need to re-read La Belle Sauvage before I start this one…

Debbie Harry made an appearance in SF this past week, and while I missed the event, someone was kind enough to snag a copy of her book for me!

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas: When I heard that the Veronica Mars creator had written YA novels in the 90s, I just had to try one.

Now playing via audiobook:

Continuing onward with the Forward stories — the remaining three are:

Ongoing reads:

Whee! I’m reading A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny, one chapter per day for the whole month. Apparently, this is a thing I’ve been missing out on all these years. Check out more info here. Fun so far!

And in book group news:

Our next group read, starting this week, is the novella A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, reading two sections per week. I’ve read this story before (a couple of times) — but it’s a good one! I’m happy to be sharing the experience with the group this time around.

So many books, so little time…

6Oct2019

Book Review: The Institute by Stephen King

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King, the most riveting and unforgettable story of kids confronting evil since It—publishing just as the second part of It, the movie, lands in theaters.

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is Stephen King’s gut-wrenchingly dramatic story of good vs. evil in a world where the good guys don’t always win.

When it comes to crafting stories about kids in creepy peril, Stephen King is… well… king.

The Institute doesn’t start the way you think it will — no mention of main character Luke or the Institute itself for about 50 pages. Instead, we meet Tim Jamieson, an ex-cop from Florida who sets out hitchhiking without a whole lot of purpose and winds up in a small town in South Carolina, where he joins the local sheriff’s department as a night knocker, sort of an unarmed watchman position. Eventually, Tim feels like he’s possibly, finally found a home and a new meaning for his life in this little town.

And that’s the last we see of Tim for a few hundred pages.

The main focus of the story is introduced when we meet Luke, a brilliant 12-year-old about to start MIT, whose incredible mental abilities come with a side of very mild telekinetic power. It’s his telekinetics, rather than his brain power, that make him a target for the Institute and land him in this isolated facility in Maine. The children at the Institute are put through a barrage of shots and sinister tests, all designed to enhance their TP (telepathy) and (TK) telekinesis. During their free time, the kids can hang out, basically keep whatever hours they choose, and do whatever they want, including drinking and smoking. In fact, drinking and smoking are encouraged, since the kids earn vending machine tokens through good behavior, and an addiction is a marvelous motivation to keep earning those tokens.

The purpose of the Institute is slowly revealed, but long before we learn why they’re doing what they’re doing, we know enough to know it’s bad. The treatment of the kids is horrific. They’re subjected to physical and emotional torture and abuse, and there’s very little concern about whether the kids are actually healthy, so long as their TP and TK abilities are honed and developed.

I’m not going to go too far into plot here — as with most Stephen King books, it’s best to just read it and put the pieces together as you go along.

So is The Institute a must-read? Well, for King fans, absolutely. It’s not skin-crawling horror like his recent book The Outsider, but it is still chilling and disturbing and creepy. That said, the book is a bit long, and takes a while to really get going. It took me two false starts before I really got into it, hitting stumbling blocks with the sudden transition from a story about an adult in South Carolina to the main story about the kidnapped children. Ultimately, it comes together and the story really works, but I think there are places where the action could have moved forward a little more quickly.

If you enjoy King’s writing, you’ll enjoy The Institute. As for me, as I always love when Stephen King references himself (and with over 60 novels in print, he has a lot of source material to choose from!). Here’s one example from The Institute that made me happy:

Back in the main corridor — what Luke now understood to be the residents’ wing — the little girls, Gerda and Greta, were standing and watching with wide, frightened eyes. They were holding hands and clutching dolls as identical as they were. They reminded Luke of twins in some old horror movie.

Good stuff.

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The details:

Title: The Institute
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Scribner
Publication date: September 10, 2019
Length: 561 pages
Genre: Horror
Source: Purchased

5Oct2019

Aubiobook Review: The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

One devoted modern girl + a meddlesome, traditional grandmother = a heartwarming multicultural romantic comedy about finding love where you least expect it

Raina Anand may have finally given in to family pressure and agreed to let her grandmother play matchmaker, but that doesn’t mean she has to like it–or that she has to play by the rules. Nani always took Raina’s side when she tried to push past the traditional expectations of their tight-knit Indian-immigrant community, but now she’s ambushing Raina with a list of suitable bachelors. Is it too much to ask for a little space? Besides, what Nani doesn’t know won’t hurt her…

As Raina’s life spirals into a parade of Nani-approved bachelors and disastrous blind dates, she must find a way out of this modern-day arranged-marriage trap without shattering her beloved grandmother’s dreams.

My Thoughts:

The Matchmaker’s List had been on my to-read list for a while, and after a few heavier books, I thought this would make a nice, light change of pace. And yes, it did, but it was also frustrating and ultimately disappointing.

In The Matchmaker’s List, Raina is 29 years old, a serious career woman — an investment banker — coming off a break-up with the love of her life. Dev is another investment banker, hard-driven in a way that Raina isn’t, and always puts his career ahead of their relationship. Raina is so blinded by love that she puts up with it, until she just can’t any more. As the book starts, Raina is living back in Canada after her time in London with Dev has ended, single, and devoted to her grandmother Nani, the woman who raised her.

Raina’s best friend Shay is newly engaged, and Shay’s mother Sarla is planning the ultimate Indian wedding bonanza. Nani just wants to see Raina settled as well, so she convinces Raina to go on a series of blind dates with suitable men from Nani’s list. The men are, for the most part, duds — arrogant or looking for an insta-mommy to their kids or just plain strange, and Raina is so not into it.

It’s a fairly cute set-up so far, right? Raina wants to please her Nani, and she’s not having any romantic success on her own, so why not try some traditional matchmaking? Except Raina is still hung up on Dev, who stays in touch just enough to keep Raina on the hook.

And here’s where I got really turned off by Raina’s character: After a misunderstanding, Raina lets Nani think she’s gay. In fact, she confirms it, thinking it’ll stay between the two of them and keep Nani from pursuing even more extreme measures to find her a prime Indian man to marry. Of course, it doesn’t stay between them, and soon, the entire Indian community knows the “truth” about Raina, causing a huge amount of scandal and division, and leading to Nani being shunned by the women she used to be friends with.

Still, Raina keeps up the fiction, even when she sees that Nani has been browsing the internet to learn more about gay rights and how to support one’s gay chldren, even investigating reproductive options for lesbian couples. Yup, Nani is ready to become a gay rights activist in defense of her beloved Raina. Raina still doesn’t back down — not even when the boy she used to babysit, now 18 years old, uses Raina’s “coming out” as inspiration for his own, pushing him out of the closet before he’s really ready and causing a huge rift within his family.

On top of Raina’s ongoing lie, which feels like a cop-out to me, so unnecessary and causing so much drama and tension, she just doesn’t strike me as a particularly good friend or nice person. When Shay mentions that she’d like to introduce Raina to one of her fiancé’s friends who’s just back from traveling the world for the past few years, Raina labels him a drifter and dismisses him — and when she meets him, she immediately decides he’s a stoner with no real evidence to support her conclusion, and continues to refer to him that way to his face even during additional encounters. Judgmental much?

What seems the most unforgivable to me is the huge fight she and Shay have during Shay’s bachelorette weekend, when Shay hears from Sarla that Raina is a lesbian. Shay knows that that’s a lie, and confronts Raina, and the two end up in a screaming match, during which Raina says this awful thing to Shay:

“I wonder if Julien would still marry you if he knew what a slut you used to be.”

Really? Slut-shaming her best friend? And threatening her this way? Just disgusting.

As is the way with what’s supposed to be a breezy romantic story, things of course work out for Raina and she ends up meeting the man of her dreams, getting the awful ex-boyfriend out of her life, telling the truth to Nani, and making up with the boy who came out because of her and felt horribly betrayed. And of course, she and Shay make up and are closer than ever, with Shay supporting Raina every step of the way.

And really, I just couldn’t. How could Shay possibly forgive Raina after the horrible thing she said? I’m sorry, I don’t care how angry Raina was (without justification, I might add) — I think her actions and statements were pretty unforgivable.

Also, by allowing Nani to believe she was gay, she thrust her unprepared grandmother into a controversy that caused her all sorts of grief and turmoil. Raina later seems to be using the experience to show how sexual orientation shouldn’t matter in terms of being loved and supported by one’s family and community, but it felt like co-opting someone else’s struggle. Raina, a straight woman, pretending to be a lesbian for her own convenience, and somehow holding herself up as a symbol of pride and equality? No.

I wish I could say the story itself is charming enough to get me to see past these issues, but it’s not. It wasn’t a slog to get through or anything — the narrative moves along quickly, and there are plenty of amusing incidents and vignettes that keep the pace going. Nani is a great character, and I enjoyed the sections that showed the complications of Raina’s childhood, her mother’s life, and the backstory for her relationship with Nani.

The cultural elements are also quite good — I loved getting the little snippets about Raina cooking with Nani or enjoying their favorite Bollywood movies together, as well as the customs surrounding a traditional Hindu wedding, and can only imagine how spectacular it might be to actually be there and experience the gorgeous clothing and amazing tastes and sounds and smells.

Still, that doesn’t outweigh how offensive I found so many of Raina’s actions. I’d love to hear opposing thoughts, of course. But for myself, I can’t really recommend this book, despite its occasional amusing and entertaining parts.

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The details:

Title: The Matchmaker’s List
Author: Sonya Lalli
Narrator: Soneela Nankani
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication date: February 5, 2019
Audiobook length: 10 hours, 40 minutes
Printed book length: 352 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library

3Oct2019

Oh so pretty! The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The story is supposed to be over.

One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.

When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn’t know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn’t know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself . . .

The Thorn and the Blossom is a remarkable literary artifact: You can open the book in either direction to decide whether you’ll first read Brendan’s, or Evelyn’s account of the mysterious love affair. Choose a side, read it like a regular novel—and when you get to the end, you’ll find yourself at a whole new beginning.

I’m in love.

With the gorgeousness of this book.

The Thorn and the Blossom is just a treat to hold and unfold. Yes, unfold. It’s described as a “two-sided love story”, and that’s literally what it is. This book has two hardcover covers, but no spine. It opens accordion-style, so you can read it from either end. The two versions of the story complement each other. Each side is about 35 pages, so this is a quick read, but utterly enchanting.

Okay, so I’ve described the outside of the book. What about the inside? Is the story itself any good?

YES.

Two stories are told here — one from Evelyn’s perspective, and one from Brendan’s. When we first meet Evelyn, she’s finishing her graduate work in medieval literature. She’s had a somewhat rocky past, but now on a brief holiday in Cornwall, she’s enjoying a fresh burst of energy and inspiration. When she meets Brendan, he introduces her to a local folk tale, and this meeting, and the story she discovers, change her life.

Brendan is also pursuing graduate studies in literature, breaking away from his home in Cornwall to pursue his dreams. After their initial meeting, a long time passes before Evelyn and Brendan meet again… but they seem destined to reenter one another’s lives.

I love the ambiguity of the story. Are they meant to be the embodiment of the fairy tale characters, or are they simply two compatible people who become obsessed by the same story? Does Evelyn hallucinate, or is she blessed (cursed?) with the second sight spoken of in tales? Is what she sees real? What do she and Brendan really mean to one another?

I read the Evelyn story first, and then the Brendan story, and I really liked the way both stories developed and being able to see how they match up and where they diverge. I wonder how the story would have felt if I’d read Brendan’s side first, not knowing the other pieces to the story?

Maybe I’ll come back to this unique book after a few months, read it the other way, and see if my impressions change!

Meanwhile, let me just say that I really loved reading and experiencing this beautiful book.

And now, I must read more by this author!

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The details:

Title: The Thorn and the Blossom
Author: Theodora Goss
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication date: January 17, 2012
Length: 85 pages
Genre: Fantasy/romantic fiction (??)
Source: Purchased

2Oct2019

Shelf Control #185: Cotillion by Georgette Heyer

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

Title: Cotillion
Author: Georgette Heyer
Published: 1953
Length: 355 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

The three great-nephews of irascible Mr. Matthew Penicuik know better than to ignore his summons, especially when it concerns the bestowal of his fortune. The wily old gentleman has hatched a freakish plan for his Country-bred stepdaughter’s future: his fortune will be lovely Catherine Charing’s dowry if she married one of his great-nephews. To spirited Kitty, the conditions of her guardian’s will before she could inherit a tuppence were intolerable.

In spite of the unwelcome attentions of greedy suitors, who are scrambling for her hand, Kitty is not wholly averse, but only if the right cousin proposes. Unfortunately, Kitty during her secluded life pining, has set her heart on handsome and virile Jack Westruther, a confirmed rake. Jack, who is well aware of her attachment, however, made it quite clear that he would marry her only when he had sown his last wild oat and seems to have no inclination to marry her anytime soon. But Kitty has other ideas… and anxious to hasten matters she devises a plan. Kitty convinces modest and carefree cousin Frederick Standen to pose as her fiance, hoping thereby to make Jack jealous and to see a little more of the world than her isolated life on her great-uncle’s estate has afforded her.

Her plan takes her to visit Freddy’s family in London, where her kith and kin embroil her in their romantic troubles, sprinkling witty banter with Parisian phrases. Cousin Lord Foster Dolphinton has fallen for a merchant’s daughter in conflict with his mother. Meanwhile, her French cousin, Camille, a professional gambler, try to win the heart of beautiful Olivia Broughty, in turn the object of cousin Jack’s dishonorable intentions. Resourceful cousin Freddie turned out to be more of a man than Kitty anticipated. And when Kitty’s generous heart leads to all sorts of unintended troubles, there is only one man who can rescue her from more than one dreadful fix and pick up the pieces of her plotting. Now, Kitty herself wonders who is really right for her….

How and when I got it:

I went on a bit of a Heyer buying binge in 2017.

Why I want to read it:

Georgette Heyer is one of those authors that I heard people talk about for years before actually reading anything by her. When my book group read one of her books back in 2017, I could see what all the fuss what about. Her books are sweet and light and romantic, full of period detail and tons of escapades involving marriage and courtship, rakes and ladies, scandals and scheming. Cotillion is one of the ones that I bought in a buying binge after I’d read a few more of her books. I think I read 5 or 6 that first year, and haven’t gone back yet for more… but I do intend to, especially since I have another 10 or so on my shelf.

What do you think? Would you read this book?

Or do you have other Georgette Heyer books to recommend?

Please share your thoughts!

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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link in the comments!
If you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!

1Oct2019

Top Ten Tuesday: From 1 to 10 — Book Titles with Numbers In Them

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Book Titles with Numbers In Them. And the topic includes an extra challenge — pick titles for numbers one through ten, if you feel like it. Challenge accepted!

This ended up being a really fun list to put together! I made a rule for myself to only include books that I’ve actually read… so here goes, a stroll through my bookshelves from one to ten: